Looking for some laughs this Friday night we booked a couple of tickets to the House of Comedy to see Isiah Kelly perform.
I am not familiar with him or his comedy, but my partner was, having had seen his Netflix special recently. He spared me any would be repeat jokes by not putting it on for us to watch. So I went into this not knowing anything about him. And to spare you from the same, I will not speak to any of the jokes, but more the experience and the tone of the night.
We went for dinner nearby before, seeing as we don’t visit New Westminster often, we wanted to make a night of it. However the service was slow and we had to pack our food to go by the time it finally came. We ended up rushed into the auditorium late, cutting into our host’s set.
Tickets are $35 each, which is highly affordable. However, it requires you to order two items at your table, be it food or drink. We grabbed our respective beer and/or wine and was able to actually have dinner here.
The food menu was an assortment of bar-friendly finger-foods. We had the crispy chicken tenders and fries, a classic with honey mustard dip and ketchup. As well as a single serving of pepperoni pizza that came with a thick spongy crust. Both I did like, being a couple of drinks in and needed the base.
As for the comedy set, the host struggled with weight focused jokes, utilizing his own to self deprecate. The crowd didn’t bite. He got less laughs by poking fun of those from different cities and districts within Metro Vancouver. He would poke and prod, stating we were not engaging enough for a meaningful report. As the warm up act, this was true, the crowd loosened up once a few brave souls began to answer and volunteer their information to be made fun of.
The opening act was Jesse Johnston, like our headliner he too travelled up from the United States to perform tonight. Both he and Isiah played on their heritage and race and got laughs. The crowd liked African American humour and critiques, I suspect not having much exposure to the culture here in Vancouver.
Overall the crowd was dry, myself included and this really took the e every down. My partner and I were seated on the elevated platform furthest away from the stage, behind the safety of our own table, hidden in the dark. I didn’t want to participate when each comedian asked questions to engage the crowd for further conversation. It was like pulling teeth, with a few tables finally playing along and being the feature in sexually charged jokes. It was all in good humour and it did get the crowd laughing.
Isiah definitely got the most laughs. He kept the mood was fun and light, even despite the one heckler. He was also seated in the back row, that would throw off the set with his one word quips. He came across as homophobic, but our headliner was skillful in darting his interruptions and bringing the crowd back to his focus.
In conclusion this was a fun night and one we will repeat again in the near future as we got two complimentary tickets with our bill. Highly recommend as a fun date night.
Rick Bronson’s – House of Comedy BC
530 Columbia St, New Westminster, BC V3L 1B2,
604-522-4500
bc.houseofcomedy.net
